Back to college shopping is an overwhelming task regardless of what year the student is in. But I have to say, that prepping for that first year was probably the most stressful because it is an emotional time and you want to make sure they have everything before they leave.
And preparing for that first year of college is a daunting task because you don’t realize how much they need! Last year, I closely followed the “everything you need and don’t need” lists that were passed down by seasoned veterans. These lists were very helpful and continue to serve as a basis for our own list of items needed for packing this year.
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To avoid running around to several different shops to acquire everything she needs, we heavily rely on Amazon Prime to get most things. That two day shipping alone is priceless when you need to get a bunch of supplies at one time! And even more so when you forget a few things and don’t want to run around to pick them up!
Using Amazon Prime saves us so much time collecting all of her personal, school and dorm supplies. And since we aren’t spending time shopping in the stores, we avoid impulsive and unnecessary purchases. In other words, it is much easier to stick to a list by ordering online instead of walking the aisles and buying things she does not need.
While it is true we have things we are re-using from last year, it is such a time saver to be able to plug in what she needs and have it shipped to the house. Done!
If you do not have your own prime membership, you can sign up here – Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
(paid link).
Amazon Student Prime Membership
While college supply lists are instrumental to organizing us for that first year, I was unaware that Amazon offered a Student Prime Membership. Maybe I am living under a rock or something, but I had no idea what it was or what it had to offer before Mackenzie left for college.
Amazon Prime Student is a Prime Membership program created for college students. As a Prime Student member, the six-month trial includes:
- Free Two-Day Shipping on over 50 million items,
- Unlimited streaming of Prime movies and TV shows,
- Unlimited photo storage with Prime Photos,
- 20% off pre-order and new release video games,
- Exclusive deals, savings, and more
- After the six-month trial ends, Prime Student membership makes you eligible to receive 50% off Amazon Prime, and includes access to all the Prime benefits.
I cannot say enough good things about Amazon Student Prime, particularly if your student’s dorm is not close to the bookstore…or any store for that matter. For that reason alone, Student Prime is worth it’s weight in gold. For them to be able to quickly order what they need (within reason of course) without involving us is priceless.
Here is a link to get you started to register your student for Amazon Student Prime before they leave – click here for Prime Student 6-month Trial (paid link).
Why It Works For Us
My daughter’s school is in a small town and she did not have the access to some things that she readily needed during her first year. Her school does not allow Freshman to have a car and Uber services are slim, so it was difficult to get around and restock on things she needed.
It was so much easier to set her up with Prime Student so she could re-order the items herself. Having the ability to do this means a) I do not have to shop or ship her anything and b) we did not need to pack her with several months of supplies like shampoo, conditioner, etc.
Buy, Rent and Sell Textbooks
I assumed it would be easy for my daughter to find and purchase her textbooks at the school bookstore when she got there. Her bookstore was about about a mile away from her dorm, so picking up several large textbooks was quite a task. We also couldn’t believe how expensive they were and they didn’t even have all the textbooks she needed for her classes. Go figure!
Turns out, it was so much easier and less expensive to purchase or rent books through Amazon. So before her classes started, she quickly registered for Amazon Prime Student. We started saving quite a bit of money both purchasing and renting used textbooks.
Check it out – you can buy, rent or sell textbooks here – Shop Amazon – Used Textbooks – Save up to 90% (paid link).
How great is that? If you love and use Amazon Prime for yourself, it is totally worth setting up your college student. Click here to apply – Prime Student 6-month Trial (paid link).
Do you have a student that is ready to head off to college? I can’t believe my oldest is going back to start her second year. And my middle daughter is applying this fall! Father time please slow down!!!!!
I would love to hear about your experience with college move-in day. Let me know in the comments here. We can also chat about it on social media. If we aren’t connected already, follow me @bricksnblooms on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram!
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